


Perchance to Dream

by Aerial312



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28039299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerial312/pseuds/Aerial312
Summary: A tag to the Season 2 Finale, "Shades of Gray"
Relationships: William Riker/Deanna Troi
Kudos: 30





	Perchance to Dream

_"To die, to sleep; to sleep perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause."_

Will Riker clenched his eyes shut against the glaring overhead lights of Sick Bay. "Ugh," he grunted. He had been in and out of a fitful sleep, still thinking about the dreams he'd had before they'd managed to clear the infection. 

Was he cleared to leave yet? Maybe the doctor had been ready to clear him, and hadn't wanted to wake him? Doubtful.

There was a weight against the right side of his chest. He strained to look. Deanna. She was out cold, her forehead against his ribcage. She'd been with him throughout this whole ordeal, probably—definitely—more than he knew. Her fingers were interlaced with his. He couldn’t remember the last time they weren't. Will gave them a squeeze. He hated Sick Bay. But he could wait a little longer if it meant she could rest. 

Focused on the rise and fall of her shoulders, he drifted off again. When he grimaced awake again, some time later, Deanna was awake, still holding strong to his hand. Her cheek was on his chest, and she was staring up at him. 

"Hey," he rasped. 

"Hey." She sat up and he felt the lack of warmth on his chest immediately. He apparently didn't do a very good job hiding his disappointment, because she chuckled, and rest her other hand where her head had been. 

"Have I been cleared yet?"

"I truly don't know. I—"

"Fell asleep," he finished. 

"Yes." 

"How long have you been her?"

Deanna looked to the clock on the computer display on the wall. "I do not know," she stated finally. "A long time. Before you fell unconscious."

"You never left." She shook her head. "You should get some rest…"

"I have," Deanna insisted. 

"Passed out against my chest—"

"Yes." There was a finality about the way she said it that made him not want to push further. 

His back was now aching and he really wanted to rest in the comfort of his own quarters. He sat up abruptly, getting very dizzy in the process. Will took a deep breath, and it passed. He knew she knew, even if she didn't say anything. 

The silver blanket pooled at his lap. "Where is my uniform?"

"The doctor cut it off you," Deanna told him sadly. "Things happened…quickly." 

Will nodded. There was a lot about the day's events that he still didn't know about. "Is there anything—could you get me--?"

"I'll get something from the replicator," she told him, kissing his forehead.

He wasn't expecting the moment of panic he felt as her hand released his. She hesitated slightly before she crossed the room. Will took a deep breath, and calmed himself. 

She returned a minute later, with some clothing for him to wear. He took them and hesitated. 

"Are you really going to be modest? Now?" she chuckled. "Will, I've seen—"

He sighed, "I know. There is just something weird about it in Sick Bay."

Deanna smiled, and turned around with a great flourish. "Let me know if you need any help."

She'd replicated sleep clothes for him. He pulled the top over his head. The bottoms would require he put weight on his feet, feet that couldn't hold him up the last time he'd tried. After slipping his feet through the leg holes, he swallowed back his pride. It would be worse if he ended up on the floor. "Dea? Would you…?" 

She turned, and without saying a word, grabbed Will's shoulders to steady him as he attempted to stand. His legs held though, and he pulled the pants the rest of the way up. His feet were still bare, but he didn't care. 

His balance was a bit precarious, but he couldn’t bare to be in Sick Bay any longer. "Come on." One foot after another, he made his way towards the door. Deanna didn't argue with him, she was right at his side every step of the way—helping him more than he'd care to admit. 

They made it to the turbo lift. He was out of breath. "Deep breath," she coaxed. "Deck nine."

He did what she suggested, pressing his back to the cool metal of the lift. This infection had really kicked his ass. The lift dinged their arrival on his floor.

"Come on." Now she was encouraging him on. Her hand was in his, guiding him as she'd done for the rest of the…day? He wasn't really sure how much time had passed, but she'd been there for it all. He focused on the strength she was projecting. 

His door opened, and he staggered into his quarters, less steady on his feet with every passing seconds. He couldn’t get to his bed soon enough, and sat gratefully on the edge of his mattress.

She was looking down on him with concern. "You probably weren't ready to leave Sick Bay. Your body went through quite a lot today." 

She was probably right, but he wasn't going to admit it out loud. "I just need to sleep. Really sleep….if I can…"

"Lay down," she told him, sitting beside him. 

"Those dreams," Will shook his head. "I'm still on edge."

"Those horrible memories are what cured you," she told him quietly. He nodded. In that moment, he knew that she'd felt every dream—nightmare—along with him.. She continued, "Different memories affected the organism differently. When you were happy, it thrived. That didn't work… When you were fighting for your life…it receeded.. We worked so hard to focus that—"

"You and Dr. Pulaski?"

She nodded. "It's probably why you're still so exhausted. You were on edge in your dreams for so long—you've really been through it."

That was exactly how he felt. "So have you. You're shielding it from me, but you're exhausted too, Dea." Her eyes locked on his, and she nodded. "Stay?" He didn't think she was planning to leave, but wanted to make sure he was clear that he didn't want her to. They'd done this a few times, but were still on unsteady ground when it came to doing things that went past friendship so far on the Enterprise. 

Her eyes locked his, and she nodded. Will smiled, and lay back against his pillow while she removed her boots. Deanna tucked her legs under the blanket, and arranged the covers around them both. She curled against him, settling her head on his chest. "Sleep, Will."

He pressed his lips to the top of her head. Sleep seemed possible. There was still so much he didn't know about what had occurred—

::Sleep now. We can talk about it tomorrow::

He gave her shoulder a squeeze in recognition, wrapping his arm tighter around her. Her knee slipped through his, and he held her closely. Her slow steady breaths were an anchor, and he finally drifted off to sleep.


End file.
